Editing Jackson, Mississippi (section)

===American Civil War===
[[File:Jacksonsiege1863.jpg|thumb|September 1863 map of the siege of Jackson]]
Despite its small population, during the Civil War, Jackson became a strategic center of manufacturing for the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. In 1863, during the military campaign which ended in the [[Siege of Vicksburg|capture of Vicksburg]], [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces captured Jackson during two battles—once before the fall of Vicksburg and once after the fall of Vicksburg.

On May 13, 1863, Union forces won the first [[Battle of Jackson, Mississippi|Battle of Jackson]], forcing [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] forces to flee northward towards [[Canton, Mississippi|Canton]]. On May 14, Union troops under the command of [[William Tecumseh Sherman]] burned and looted key facilities in Jackson, a strategic manufacturing and railroad center for the Confederacy.<ref name="JB">{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Brian|title=[Johnson] When Jackson Burned|url=http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2006/may/17/johnson-when-jackson-burned/|access-date=2021-01-23|website=www.jacksonfreepress.com|language=en|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112041026/https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2006/may/17/johnson-when-jackson-burned/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Vicksburg|first1=Mailing Address: 3201 Clay Street|last2=Us|first2=MS 39183 Phone:636-0583 Contact|title=Battle of Jackson (May 14) - Vicksburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/jackson.htm|access-date=2021-01-23|website=www.NPS.gov|language=en|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414202421/https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/jackson.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> After driving the Confederate forces out of Jackson, Union forces turned west and engaged the Vicksburg defenders at the [[Battle of Champion Hill]] in nearby [[Edwards, Mississippi|Edwards]]. The Union forces began their siege of Vicksburg soon after their victory at Champion Hill. Confederate forces began to reassemble in Jackson in preparation for an attempt to break through the Union lines surrounding Vicksburg and end the siege. The Confederate forces in Jackson built defensive [[fortification]]s encircling the city while preparing to march west to Vicksburg.

Confederate forces marched out of Jackson in early July 1863 to break the siege of Vicksburg. But, unknown to them, Vicksburg had already surrendered on July 4, 1863. General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] dispatched General Sherman to meet the Confederate forces heading west from Jackson. Upon learning that Vicksburg had already surrendered, the Confederates retreated into Jackson. Union forces began the [[siege of Jackson]], which lasted for approximately one week. Union forces encircled the city and began an [[artillery]] bombardment. One of the Union artillery emplacements has been preserved on the grounds of the [[University of Mississippi Medical Center]] in Jackson. [[John C. Breckinridge]], former United States [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], served as one of the Confederate generals defending Jackson. On July 16, 1863, Confederate forces slipped out of Jackson during the night and retreated across the Pearl River.

Union forces completely burned the city after its capture this second time. The city was called "Chimneyville" because only the chimneys of houses were left standing.<ref name="JB" /> The northern line of Confederate defenses in Jackson during the siege was located along a road near downtown Jackson, now known as Fortification Street.
[[File:Jackson-StarsAndStripesHarpers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Engraving from ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', June 20, 1863, after the capture of Jackson by Union forces during the American Civil War]]
[[File:Jackson December 2018 37 (Old Mississippi State Capitol).jpg|thumb|[[Old Mississippi State Capitol|Mississippi Old Capitol]], downtown Jackson|alt=]]

Because of the siege and following destruction, few [[Antebellum architecture|antebellum]] structures have survived in Jackson. The [[Mississippi Governor's Mansion|Governor's Mansion]], built in 1842, served as Sherman's headquarters and has been preserved. Another is the [[Old Mississippi State Capitol|Old Capitol]] building, which served as the home of the Mississippi state legislature from 1839 to 1903. The Mississippi legislature passed the ordinance of [[secession]] from the Union there on January 9, 1861, becoming the second state to secede from the United States. The [[Jackson City Hall]], built in 1846 for less than $8,000, also survived. It is said that Sherman, a [[Freemasonry|Mason]], spared it because it housed a [[Masonic Lodge]], though a more likely reason is that it housed an army hospital.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thompson|first=Bennie Gordon|date=June 19, 2014|title=HONORING THE CITY OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI|url=https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2014/6/20/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/e1028-5?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Honoring+the+city+of+jackson%22%5D%7D&s=6&r=1|journal=Congressional Record|volume=160|issue=97|pages=E1029|via=Congress.gov|access-date=January 23, 2021|archive-date=April 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410070902/https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2014/6/20/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/e1028-5?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Honoring+the+city+of+jackson%22%5D%7D&s=6&r=1|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the Manship House (Ca. 1857) survives.